Chapter 106: Victoria, Speak Up For Me!
Inside the grand church hall with its high dome.
Holy light shone through the tall stained-glass windows, slanting into the church. Colorful rays spread across the marble floor, forming a flowing picture of light and shadow.
Beautifully carved oak benches were lined up neatly on both sides of the central aisle. The old wood had a soft, warm shine.
Above, a solemn cross hung in the air, glowing gently under candlelight. Several tall white candles burned quietly beside the confession pool, their soft light mixing with thin lines of rising incense smoke.
Victoria held a Bible and walked down the long corridor until she stood before the statue of the Goddess.
Today was her day to pray. Students of the Holy Academy had to take part in a prayer activity about once a month.
The main idea was simple, talk to the Goddess about what was on your mind, share recent events, and most importantly, reflect on your mistakes.
Confession and self-reflection were almost required lessons for every believer.
It was widely believed in the church that as long as you sincerely confessed, the Goddess would forgive you.
Victoria clasped her hands together, and holy light began to glow around her.
Since becoming one of the chosen, her holy power had grown much stronger. She was almost completely surrounded by light.
With this new power, she began to recite her prayer. Her senses quickly became sharper, rising to a very high level.
Even the sound of the wind around her became extremely clear, as if everything was amplified many times.
Victoria suddenly felt a chill. The strong cold feeling made her think she might have fallen into some kind of illusion.
But she kept her hands together. The wind didn’t stop, and her thoughts became more and more unstable.
For a brief moment, she felt like… she was being watched by a god.
No way… could it really be this coincidental?
The feeling grew stronger and stronger, and Victoria realized…
She really was being watched by the Goddess.
This was… very awkward.
It felt like forgetting to do homework, planning to leave the notebook at home and finish it later…
Only for a parent to suddenly bring the notebook to school and ask the teacher to check it on the spot.
Victoria’s body became stiff.
She had only come here to go through the motions, but now it had become real!
Victoria: Speak up for me!
Seriously, ever since she met Peiya, her life had never been peaceful again.
Calm down. Don’t panic.
Victoria tried her best to steady her restless heart and recall what she originally planned to confess.
Recently, nothing big had really happened that needed reflection. After thinking for a moment, she decided to confess the thing that made her feel most guilty as a student of the Holy Academy.
That was the time in the library when she couldn’t hold back and called Lisa an idiot.
Normally, students of the Holy Academy were not supposed to insult others directly… but sometimes, you just couldn’t help it.
After hearing her confession, the tall statue of the Goddess began to shine with holy light.
Did that mean her confession was accepted?
However, the feeling of being watched by the Goddess still didn’t go away.
With no choice, Victoria tried to talk about things from her past.
But for some reason, maybe the Goddess didn’t like it, the statue’s face suddenly seemed to turn pale, then red…
The Goddess didn’t seem interested in Victoria’s story…
Seeing this, Victoria felt embarrassed and quickly stopped talking about herself. Instead, she began to talk about what she had recently discovered.
She told everything about Peiya, her teammates, and what happened during the Ice Bear King incident.
But this time, the Goddess seemed even more irritated. Her expression looked like someone with stomach problems, almost like indigestion or constipation.
Victoria’s heart skipped a beat.
Just a few sentences, and the Goddess was already “angry mode.”
Thinking carefully, it seemed like the Goddess was more interested in Peiya. Realizing this, Victoria quickly shared more things about Peiya.
This time, the statue of the Goddess finally calmed down and returned to its normal, holy appearance.
Victoria let out a long breath. She felt like she understood now. The Goddess probably wanted her to gather more information about Peiya.
But… shouldn’t a Goddess be all-knowing? Why wouldn’t she know what was happening in the world?
After what just happened, Victoria didn’t dare to ask directly. So she stayed there and kept talking about Peiya for a while, until it seemed like the Goddess was finally satisfied.
Her heightened senses slowly returned to normal. The sound of the wind faded, and everything became quiet again.
Victoria placed her hand on her chest.
Finally… the Goddess had “left.”
Just then, a calm female voice came from behind,
“Victoria, how is the task I gave you?”
That voice… her teacher?
Victoria turned around and saw her teacher holding a book. She had slightly curly brown hair. Even though she was already in her thirties or forties, she didn’t look old at all.
The teacher stood beside a white stone pillar, holding a half-open book. Her sharp gaze fell on Victoria, making her feel uneasy.
“Teacher Helen, why are you here?”
The woman adjusted her glasses. “To check on you, and to complete a task from the academy. Victoria, it’s been quite a few days. How is your progress?”
“I’ve been studying! And the person you asked me to find, I’ve been looking for them too. Teacher, don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten your teachings. I’m really trying to improve.”
“Oh? So obedient?” Helen looked at her closely. “Victoria, I don’t think you’re the type to quietly follow my instructions.”
Helen stared at her, flipping a page in her book.
Victoria realized she had acted too much. She thought to herself, this is bad. But at this point, explaining might only make things worse.
So she lifted her head and spoke seriously.
“I’ve been going through self-exile. In front of the Goddess, I realized there are always stronger people out there. So I decided to experience self-exile to understand how strong people think, and try to catch up to you. Also, I’ve learned a lot from Peiya. Right now, I’m using this ‘exile’ to help myself grow better.”
Helen’s eyebrow twitched. “You… are you sure? Because on my way here, what I saw you doing the most… was eating, drinking, and having fun. Is that also part of your ‘self-exile’?”
“Y-yes… I was studying Peiya’s living environment and analyzing her mental state. It’s also part of the process.”
Victoria raised her chin, speaking nonsense with a straight face.
“I see… it seems I underestimated you,” Helen said. “Since that’s the case, I won’t go around in circles. I’m here under orders from the higher-ups to investigate the matter of the ‘Chosen One.’ You may not know this, but recently in the academy, there have been many rumors about the Goddess appearing. So we’ve been asked to check which student has become the chosen one. I won’t say more. Victoria, show me your silver cross.”